Just out of curiosity, why is AKL the least favorite of all the deluxe resorts? The reason that I ask is over the past few years, I’ve noticed that many MBers tend to “pass” on AKL. Is it because you’re either a “monorail route” person or a “walking distance to EPCOT” person or is it something else? Why would you never give it a shot or if you have, why would you not go back?

We went to check out the AKL this past Sunday and all I can say is WOW! The Jambo House is spectacular! :ohmy:

It completely blows away anything I’ve see at all of the other resorts.

And the savannah is fantastic as well! I bet the rooms overlooking the savannah are something else… And the resort itself is amazing, with all of the little “nooks and crannies”, the art, the décor, the restaurants, even the humble pool, this place is awesome.

And as far as the drive is concerned, we clocked an extra 2 min and 23 seconds to the EPCOT exit (before the MK toll booth) compared to a drive from CBR as well as the PO resorts (I know they’re MOD’s, not deluxes so its apples and oranges) so the drive is not insane.

Plus, I just priced a room in the high season (July) and w/ the 30% passholder discount, the rooms are $266 a night… Not too bad!

I can see us staying here for a weekend and not even hitting a park. There is so much to do at the AKL, as well as all of the activities that they offer, that you really wouldn’t need to hit a park (I know, blasphemy lol :eek: But we go all the time…).

So whats your reason for not liking this resort or for the lack of interest?

AKL is my favorite place in the whole wide world, and I loved hearing from you your first impression of it. I don’t get the negativity either. It is so warm and cozy. The cm’s are outstanding, and I like it being a little out of the way. Something nice and quiet to come home to after a busy day at the parks. I look forward to others responses also, out of curiousity.

The only thing I don’t care for about it is that it is very far from the parks other than AK and is not on the monorail route. I am definitely a fan of the monorail, since MK is our most visited park.

But, I do intend to stay there someday. This past semester, I did my architectural communication speech on Peter Dominick, architect of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge Resorts (and Grand Californian in DL), which really made me fall in love with the resort.

I don’t think it’s the least favorite deluxe resort at all. There are plenty of MBers that love it.

For me, Saratoga Springs is the least appealing deluxe resort (I do think that the treehouses are cool, though). However, there are plenty of MBers who would choose SSR over any other deluxe.

We rented points for a 10 night stay at Kidani Village last August. The place is awesome!! Would definitely stay there again!!

My friend says it does not appeal to her because of the distance to some of the parks(Animal Kingdom is not a fav of hers either). She also says it seems dark and dreary to her. All of this and she has never been inside the resort!!

I really think that AKL is in a class by itself- nothing really compares. So many people love it, but it does feel out of the way if commando park touring is the goal. We just finished an Easter week stay at AKV and it was a fabulous vacation with no stress and no rushing around. We are DVC owners and we use our points to stay at AKV every other year or so.

We stayed at Kidani Village in a Savannah Studio on our trip last November - December. We stayed there because I wanted to go on the safari that they had there. I thought I would hate the ride to the parks because it’s so out of the way. But I have to tell you the ride to the parks wasn’t bad at all. What I didn’t like was how are room wasn’t “sound proof”. The whole time we were there the child in the next room was crying, and the father just kept screaming at her. We didn’t even want to spend time in our room which was a shame because we had a great view of the savannah, and no matter when we came back to our room the child was crying. I’m not sure if they ever left their room. There was always a tray outside there room with dirty dishes.
We had problems with our room keys, our dining plan, our flight…you name it, if it could have gone wrong it happened on that trip. We still had a lot of fun, but I don’t think I’ll give it another try soon.

We LOVE AKL, but also love trying out the other resorts too, but we always highly recommend AKL to friends and family. We’re helping friends plan a trip right now with DVC points and this is where they really wanted to stay (they’ve never stayed on property before) but with planning a trip 3.5 weeks prior to going, they didn’t have much luck…the only resort with an available studio was Saratoga. They’re on the AKL waitlist, but will be happy with SSR.

I am thinking about a hubby wife trip next year and I know my DW would love AKL. I am almost always at a conference so the EPCOT resorts are part of the package, but if just the two of us go I would like to try AKL and WL.

We have stayed at Beach Club, Treehouse, Wilderness lodge, OKW and AKL, they all have their appeal. AKL is a paradise if you have small children they will love the atmosphere. Our kids are older and the atmosphere was not to their liking. I personally loved the setting and amenities.

I have stayed there twice and would again in a second if my financials could warrant another stay. It’s actually my favorite of the deluxes that I have stayed at. I like it over the Polynesian. The drawback to some is the remote location, but that is what appeals to me. It’s like having a vacation within a vacation to me. It’s so isolated and well themed that it feels like an entirely different vacation destination. I LOVE it there.

I’ve stayed at AKL many times since 2002.
With the WL, AKL are the least expensive of the deluxe hotels.
It’s really nice and it is unique.
My only gripe for AKL is that it is landlocked, it has no marina and there is no lake.
It is farther from all of the parks (except AK) than any other resort but until they opened Kidani Village, all bus service was a single stop and the AKL bus is still not shared with any other resort.
Dining is excellent, architecture is excellent, there are plenty of places guests can view animals even without having a savannah view room.

We love AKL as a resort, but we do like being able to walk to parks from BLT, BCV and BWV. We often stay at AKL for several days, then switch to one of those resorts, so we have the best of both worlds.

I really enjoyed staying at the AKL a few times and I think I like it over the WL. We even go there almost every trip to eat. My main issues with the resort is its location and there is nothing else around the resort. I have spent whole days relaxing at the AKL and I found the pool area would fill up very early and there was no other place to go. Compared to all the activities at the Polynesian or other monorail resorts, the AKL was short on things to do. At the Monorail resorts and the Epcot Resorts you have parks you can get to quickly and easily (within a few minutes). Also you have other resorts you can get to, to eat, shop or just look at.

Wow every one seems positive, guess I’m going to be different. I ‘like’ the resort very much, but have never had the desire to stay there. However, I am not keen on AK as a park and don’t generally do the whole animal/safari/Africa theme as a whole. So for me a resort based around those themes wouldn’t be that appealing.
I visit there (Tinkerbell and Jo-Jo) and eat there, but as for staying there it just never has personally appealed.

I have said many times that there is so much negativity for this resort, and am very goad someone is asking. It is our home resort and have stayed at the villas twice including right now, and we love it each and everytime. I know a lot of people love the monorail loop and I have never stayed at the resorts (I would like to one day). The drive is really not as bad as people make it out to be. Yes is it a little longer yes but what a couple more minutes. As for the ambiance we love it in fact DW and I have painted our own bed room the same colors since we love the warm feeling of it so much. Also where else can you relax on you balcony and watch a giraffe walk right past you. It will always be our favorite and our second home.

[QUOTE=mommyof2;1076806]We rented points for a 10 night stay at Kidani Village last August. The place is awesome!! Would definitely stay there again!!

My friend says it does not appeal to her because of the distance to some of the parks(Animal Kingdom is not a fav of hers either). She also says it seems dark and dreary to her. All of this and she has never been inside the resort!!

I highly recommend AKL-absolutely beautiful!![/QUOTE]

In my defense I have looked at pictures:laugh: I do believe it looks dark, and if I’m paying all that $$ I want to stay close to the parks since thats where I spend most of my time…But in a reality I would stay in any resort just to see the mouse!

I’m guilty (or was)! When we first looked into staying at AKL I was completely against it…although I can’t really say why just didn’t think I was going to like it. NOW it’s my absolute favorite and truly a hotel I can walk into and feel like I’m someplace else. Now, I have to give in here and there and check out other hotels to keep everyone else happy.